Research Question: What factors affect teacher quality? Contributed by: Robin Keller
Teacher Quality Factors
Scholarly Journal: Chicago Journals [1]
The NCLB Act was put in place with a special emphasis on the quality of teachers. They are focusing on this aspect of education in order to create a high quality educational force and to give all students with equally good learning opportunities. To be highly qualified according to the act, one must have the full certification to teach from their state, a minimum of a bachelor’s degree, and subject matter and teaching skills in the subjects they teach. Teacher effectiveness factors also include teacher certification, education, competency and experience. The various factors that affect teacher quality and the inconsistent study results of correlations to student performance make it hard to focus on specifics when trying to improve the overall quality. Individual teacher effectiveness is shown in their class’ performance, a factor that can be measured. This shows the good versus the bad teachers, but not necessarily the qualities of the teachers that make them effective or not effective. Without concise data about which factors improve student achievement, NCLB cannot define the specific teacher qualities needed to be effective. At this point, a teacher can be qualified to teach, yet be an ineffective teacher. The only true positive correlation between teacher characteristics and student performance was in subject specific degrees and additional courses on teaching.
Reaction:
I agree with the fact that teacher effectiveness should have high priority in educational reform. The NCLB act is right to focus on this aspect of education. However, the results of studies made on what makes teacher effective do not allow us to make conclusions about what makes a good teacher. The factors that go into teacher quality are too great to all be considered at once. More time should go into teacher development and possibly teacher meetings to share their effective methods and strategies behind teaching.
ERIC Digest: Indicators of Teacher Quality[2]
There are many factors that affect the quality of a teacher and effective performance in the classroom. The wide variety of teaching styles and wide variety of experience and education our educators have received make it difficult to know what exactly constitutes an effective teacher. There are, however, some correlations between certain teacher attributes and their quality. There are both negative and positive correlations between high teach degree levels and student achievement. Rather than just how many or how high of a degree the teacher has, the specific subject of the degree is important. If the teacher has high degrees in their subject area, they usually have higher student performance levels. There are unclear results as to whether the amount of pedagogical preparation affects student performance. There is a positive correlation between those teachers who have the full license to teach and higher student performance versus those who do did not meet all of the licensing requirements. However, in some studies, teachers without complete licenses have proven to be just as effective as those with. In some cases but not all, there is a positive correlation between years of teaching experience and student performance. Also, there is a slight positive correlation between academic proficiency of teachers and their students’ performance. Each of these factors depend and vary greatly between teachers and schools.
Reaction: Every different factor seems to have weak correlations, if any. Some factors even have negative correlations sometimes and positive correlations other times. These results are not enough to conclude anything about what exactly constitutes a high quality teacher. Teacher quality depends greatly on the teacher themselves. Possibly other factors are important too such as teacher salary, or their experience with their own teachers through their lifetime.
Editorial: Boost Teacher Quality[3]
Obama had a plan to set higher standards and more accountability to hire higher quality teachers and in return offer them a greater salary and more support. Hess believes this would be great, however, there is too large of a struggle to divide high quality teachers from low quality teachers. Observable characteristics of teachers have been studied and found to have very little effect on their overall teacher effectiveness. Teachers are being rewarded for their credentials and seniority, rather than what’s important, their quality of teaching. Our education system is still set back by old formula to pay based on seniority. As a result, teacher quality has been treated as less important, while still spending valuable money to the wrong causes. Hess believes that state licensure systems should focus less on obstacles in education, and more on talent in teaching. Also, more money should be spent as a reward to effective teachers and time should be spent to encourage growth and change within the profession.
Reaction:
I agree with Hess that the education system is wrong to pay teachers for how long they’ve been teaching rather than how effective they are at teaching. If teachers were being rewarded with a higher pay rate, they may have more motivation for being more effective and increasing student performance. Also, it would be important to keep the teaching profession up to date and less repetitive for teachers to encourage teaching excellence.
Analysis article from magazine: Wall Street Journal[4]
Teachers need to be accountable for their material; however, they also need to be treated as professionals. Teacher quality depends on how teachers are being treated and how they feel about teaching. Their approach is to create culture for teachers. Three aspects make up this culture and allow teachers to improve their effectiveness. These aspects are ownership, teamwork and passion about continuous growth. Firstly, teachers need to feel a sense of ownership about their work and must have the opportunity for personal input rather than just spitting out what the curriculum demands. Such methods as choosing their own textbook, working closely with the principal and the ability to run with their ideas engage teachers more fully in their work, and therefore, engage student as well. Teamwork is necessary to create a sense of belonging and having a family which in return creates a happier and more productive environment. It takes work, but when done correctly, is very beneficial. Also, there needs to be a passion about growth and improvement. This gives optimism and an open minded approach to teachers. Change is necessary for success.
Reaction: This was an interesting take on what is important for improving teacher quality. The three aspects, ownership, teamwork and a passion for growth seem to me to be very important aspects for teaching. Teachers are human beings and they benefit from the feeling of ownership, the connections to other people and also the passion and excitement for new possibilities. Without these three aspects, a teachers’ career would be dull and unrewarding, which shows in the classroom atmosphere and also in students’ performance.
Other Articles/Web Pages about Great Teaching
Fogleman's Favorite Links on Great_Teachers from Diigo
Annotations:
Teaching has permitted me to be a lover of ideas, a performer, a lifelong learner, a historian, a writer, and a friend to former students and colleagues
...
Description of students' summer time robotics efforts. This description shows what can happen when a culture of technical innovation is fostered in a school.
Tags:
Great_Teachers
Project...
Summary of results from a UK study of effective teaching. "More effective teachers create a positive climate for learning by challenging pupils' ideas, inspiring them, being more innovative in their practice and differentiating amongst pupils acco...
^ 2. Goldhaber, D., & Anthony, E. (n.d.). Indicators of Teacher Quality. Retrieved November 19, 2010, from file:///C:/Users/Robin/AppData/Local/Temp/HWWilsonRecords-1.html
Contributed by: Robin Keller
Teacher Quality Factors
Scholarly Journal: Chicago Journals [1]
The NCLB Act was put in place with a special emphasis on the quality of teachers. They are focusing on this aspect of education in order to create a high quality educational force and to give all students with equally good learning opportunities. To be highly qualified according to the act, one must have the full certification to teach from their state, a minimum of a bachelor’s degree, and subject matter and teaching skills in the subjects they teach. Teacher effectiveness factors also include teacher certification, education, competency and experience. The various factors that affect teacher quality and the inconsistent study results of correlations to student performance make it hard to focus on specifics when trying to improve the overall quality. Individual teacher effectiveness is shown in their class’ performance, a factor that can be measured. This shows the good versus the bad teachers, but not necessarily the qualities of the teachers that make them effective or not effective. Without concise data about which factors improve student achievement, NCLB cannot define the specific teacher qualities needed to be effective. At this point, a teacher can be qualified to teach, yet be an ineffective teacher. The only true positive correlation between teacher characteristics and student performance was in subject specific degrees and additional courses on teaching.
Reaction:
I agree with the fact that teacher effectiveness should have high priority in educational reform. The NCLB act is right to focus on this aspect of education. However, the results of studies made on what makes teacher effective do not allow us to make conclusions about what makes a good teacher. The factors that go into teacher quality are too great to all be considered at once. More time should go into teacher development and possibly teacher meetings to share their effective methods and strategies behind teaching.
ERIC Digest: Indicators of Teacher Quality[2]
There are many factors that affect the quality of a teacher and effective performance in the classroom. The wide variety of teaching styles and wide variety of experience and education our educators have received make it difficult to know what exactly constitutes an effective teacher. There are, however, some correlations between certain teacher attributes and their quality. There are both negative and positive correlations between high teach degree levels and student achievement. Rather than just how many or how high of a degree the teacher has, the specific subject of the degree is important. If the teacher has high degrees in their subject area, they usually have higher student performance levels. There are unclear results as to whether the amount of pedagogical preparation affects student performance. There is a positive correlation between those teachers who have the full license to teach and higher student performance versus those who do did not meet all of the licensing requirements. However, in some studies, teachers without complete licenses have proven to be just as effective as those with. In some cases but not all, there is a positive correlation between years of teaching experience and student performance. Also, there is a slight positive correlation between academic proficiency of teachers and their students’ performance. Each of these factors depend and vary greatly between teachers and schools.
Reaction: Every different factor seems to have weak correlations, if any. Some factors even have negative correlations sometimes and positive correlations other times. These results are not enough to conclude anything about what exactly constitutes a high quality teacher. Teacher quality depends greatly on the teacher themselves. Possibly other factors are important too such as teacher salary, or their experience with their own teachers through their lifetime.
Editorial: Boost Teacher Quality[3]
Obama had a plan to set higher standards and more accountability to hire higher quality teachers and in return offer them a greater salary and more support. Hess believes this would be great, however, there is too large of a struggle to divide high quality teachers from low quality teachers. Observable characteristics of teachers have been studied and found to have very little effect on their overall teacher effectiveness. Teachers are being rewarded for their credentials and seniority, rather than what’s important, their quality of teaching. Our education system is still set back by old formula to pay based on seniority. As a result, teacher quality has been treated as less important, while still spending valuable money to the wrong causes. Hess believes that state licensure systems should focus less on obstacles in education, and more on talent in teaching. Also, more money should be spent as a reward to effective teachers and time should be spent to encourage growth and change within the profession.
Reaction:
I agree with Hess that the education system is wrong to pay teachers for how long they’ve been teaching rather than how effective they are at teaching. If teachers were being rewarded with a higher pay rate, they may have more motivation for being more effective and increasing student performance. Also, it would be important to keep the teaching profession up to date and less repetitive for teachers to encourage teaching excellence.
Analysis article from magazine: Wall Street Journal[4]
Teachers need to be accountable for their material; however, they also need to be treated as professionals. Teacher quality depends on how teachers are being treated and how they feel about teaching. Their approach is to create culture for teachers. Three aspects make up this culture and allow teachers to improve their effectiveness. These aspects are ownership, teamwork and passion about continuous growth. Firstly, teachers need to feel a sense of ownership about their work and must have the opportunity for personal input rather than just spitting out what the curriculum demands. Such methods as choosing their own textbook, working closely with the principal and the ability to run with their ideas engage teachers more fully in their work, and therefore, engage student as well. Teamwork is necessary to create a sense of belonging and having a family which in return creates a happier and more productive environment. It takes work, but when done correctly, is very beneficial. Also, there needs to be a passion about growth and improvement. This gives optimism and an open minded approach to teachers. Change is necessary for success.
Reaction: This was an interesting take on what is important for improving teacher quality. The three aspects, ownership, teamwork and a passion for growth seem to me to be very important aspects for teaching. Teachers are human beings and they benefit from the feeling of ownership, the connections to other people and also the passion and excitement for new possibilities. Without these three aspects, a teachers’ career would be dull and unrewarding, which shows in the classroom atmosphere and also in students’ performance.
Other Articles/Web Pages about Great Teaching
Fogleman's Favorite Links on Great_Teachers from Diigo2. Goldhaber, D., & Anthony, E. (n.d.). Indicators of Teacher Quality. Retrieved November 19, 2010, from file:///C:/Users/Robin/AppData/Local/Temp/HWWilsonRecords-1.html
3. Hess, F. M. (n.d.). BOOST TEACHER QUALITY. Retrieved November 19, 2010, from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?hid=18&sid=9b43d09f-dafb-4560-bb09-31747049e29e%40sessionmgr10&vid=1&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9h&AN=36249481
4. Kenny, D. (n.d.). A Teacher Quality Manifesto. Retrieved November 19, 2010, from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?hid=18&sid=1cd8f442-da20-42ea-8acb-ea1b7f7110cd%40sessionmgr13&vid=1&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9h&AN=54226675